Department of School Education & Literacy, Ministry of Education, Organises Nationwide Screening of Inclusive Education Sensitization Module through PRASHAST

1. At a Glance

• PRASHAST (Pre Assessment Holistic Screening Tool) is a school-based digital tool for identifying children who probably have a disability covered under the RPwD Act, 2016 [1][2].
• In Oct 2026, the Department of School Education & Literacy (DoSEL), Ministry of Education, used the PRASHAST Portal to screen a 30-minute Sensitization and Orientation Module on Inclusive Education for CwSN in schools across the country [1].
• The module is built on a whole-school approach to inclusion: everyone in the school is part of it, from heads and teachers to special educators, aayahs, drivers and wardens [1].
• Why it matters for UPSC: it brings together NEP 2020, the RPwD Act 2016, Samagra Shiksha's CwSN component and digital governance (GS-II welfare of vulnerable sections; GS-II education).

2. Why in the News

• 08 Oct 2026: DoSEL held a nationwide screening of the 30-minute CwSN sensitisation module through the PRASHAST Portal [1].
• More than 60,000 schools took part, and participation is expected to rise during the month [1].
• More than 72 lakh teachers have already been sensitised through the dedicated module, which DoSEL has been running on PRASHAST for the past three months [1].

3. Background & Evolution

• RPwD Act, 2016: Parliament passed it in 2016. It raised the recognised disability types from 7 to 21, and the Central Government can add more [5][6].
• NEP 2020: provides for CwSN to take full part in regular schooling from the Foundational Stage to higher education [8].
• Shikshak Parv 2022: the PRASHAST app was launched. It screens the 21 disability conditions in the RPwD Act at school level and produces school-wise reports that are shared with authorities to start the certification process [2][3].
• The app was developed by CIET, NCERT [2].
• The Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan later launched a Disability Screening Checklist for Schools (PRASHAST) as part of a set of school and teacher education initiatives [4].
• Dec 2025: PIB reported that more than 92 lakh students had been screened at the preliminary level through the app [7].
• Jul–Oct 2026: continuous teacher sensitisation on PRASHAST led to the nationwide module screening on 08 Oct 2026 [1].
• Predecessor or parallel effort: Samagra Shiksha's Inclusive Education component already held annual block-level identification and assessment camps [9].

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Full form	PRASHAST = Pre Assessment Holistic Screening Tool [2]
Developer	CIET, NCERT [2]
Implementing dept.	DoSEL, Ministry of Education [1]
Legal anchor	RPwD Act, 2016 (Act No. 49 of 2016) [1][6]
Policy anchor	NEP 2020 [1]
Conditions screened	21 disability conditions under the RPwD Act [2]
Screening design	Two-part checklist: teachers screen using observable indicators, then special educators validate cases and refer them for medical assessment where needed [1]
Output	School-wise reports that start the certification process [2]
Module length / languages	30 minutes, in 12 Indian languages [1]
Target audience	Heads of schools, teachers, special educators, non-teaching staff (aayahs, drivers, clerical staff, receptionists, deans, wardens) [1]
Reach (Oct 2026)	More than 60,000 schools; more than 72 lakh teachers sensitised [1]
Students screened (Dec 2025)	More than 92 lakh [7]
Portal	prashast.education.gov.in [1]

Relevant RPwD Act provisions [6]:

• Sec 16: governments and local authorities must try to ensure that every educational institution they fund or recognise provides inclusive education. This means admission without discrimination, equal sports and recreation, and accessible buildings and campuses.
• Sec 17: specific measures, including a survey of school-going children every five years to identify CwSN, training teachers (including in sign language and Braille), training support staff, and setting up resource centres.

Samagra Shiksha CwSN component [9]:

• Aids, appliances and assistive devices, and teaching-learning materials (TLMs).
• Transport, escort and scribe allowances.
• Annual block-level identification and assessment camps.
• Stipend for girls with disabilities.

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Social

• Early identification reduces late diagnosis, dropout and learning loss among CwSN. This matches NEP's aim of equitable, inclusive education [1][8].
• Including non-teaching staff recognises that inclusion happens "from the classroom and office to transport and other common spaces" [1].
• Risk: screening can turn into labelling and stigma unless the sensitisation goes deep.

Legal / Constitutional

• PRASHAST puts into practice the Sec 17 duty to identify CwSN and train staff, and the Sec 16 inclusive-education duty [6].
• School-wise reports feed into certification, which is the gateway to statutory entitlements such as reservation in education and employment [2][7].

Administrative

• The work is layered: teachers screen, special educators validate, and medical bodies certify [1]. This depends on enough special educators, who are often in short supply.
• The 72 lakh-plus teachers sensitised in about three months show the scale that digital delivery can reach [1].
• The scheme runs through Samagra Shiksha, a centrally sponsored scheme, so outcomes depend on States/UTs [9].

Scientific / Technological

• An NCERT-built app and portal, with multilingual content (12 languages) and automated school-wise reports [1][2].
• Limitations: a checklist based on observable indicators flags probable cases only; it is not a diagnosis [1]. Digital-divide issues also affect rural schools.

Ethical / Governance

• "Shared responsibility" moves inclusion from specialists to the whole institution [1].
• Data on children's disabilities raises privacy and consent concerns, which need safeguards.

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• Dec 2025: PIB's "India's Commitment to Disability Rights" reported more than 92 lakh students screened through PRASHAST [7].
• c. Jul–Sep 2026: DoSEL ran continuous sensitisation of general teachers on Inclusive Education through PRASHAST [1].
• 08 Oct 2026: nationwide screening of the 30-minute CwSN module. More than 60,000 schools took part and more than 72 lakh teachers had been sensitised [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• PRASHAST = Pre Assessment Holistic Screening Tool [2].
• PRASHAST was developed by CIET, NCERT [2].
• The PRASHAST app was launched during Shikshak Parv 2022 [2][3].
• PRASHAST screens 21 disability conditions recognised under the RPwD Act, 2016 [2].
• PRASHAST uses a two-part checklist: teachers screen and special educators validate [1].
• The sensitisation module runs 30 minutes and is available in 12 Indian languages [1].
• The module covers non-teaching staff as well, including aayahs, drivers, wardens and receptionists [1].
• More than 72 lakh teachers were sensitised and more than 60,000 schools took part (Oct 2026) [1].
• More than 92 lakh students were screened through PRASHAST by Dec 2025 [7].
• The RPwD Act, 2016 raised disability categories from 7 to 21 [5].
• Sec 17 of the RPwD Act requires a survey of school-going children every five years to identify CwSN [6].
• Sec 16 of the RPwD Act places the inclusive-education duty on government-funded or recognised institutions [6].
• Samagra Shiksha's CwSN component includes a stipend for girls with disabilities and escort and scribe allowances [9].
• NEP 2020 covers CwSN from the Foundational Stage to higher education [8].

8. Too Few Special Educators to Check What Teachers Flag

• The tool depends on one step that has very few people to do it
• PRASHAST works in two parts. Teachers flag a child, then a special educator must check (validate) the case before it goes for medical assessment [1].
• So every child a teacher flags joins a queue for a special educator.

• Sensitising more teachers means more children get flagged. It does not add any special educators.

• The numbers do not match

• More than 72 lakh teachers have been sensitised, and more than 60,000 schools joined this one screening [1].
• For 2023-24, the Centre funded only 32,196 special educators under Samagra Shiksha, at a cost of Rs 743.40 crore [12].

• That is fewer special educators than the number of schools that joined this single event.

• The norm exists, but the posts depend on the States

• The Department's norm is one special educator for every 10 CwSN at primary level and one for every 15 at upper primary [13].
• Education is in the Concurrent List (subjects on which both Centre and States can make laws). So States/UTs recruit special educators, and the Centre only funds and sets norms [13].

• If a State does not create the posts, flagged children wait and nobody validates their cases.

• The Supreme Court has already pointed to this gap

• In Rajneesh Kumar Pandey v. Union of India (2021), petitioners said Uttar Pradesh alone needed 73,888 special teachers for 3,69,443 CwSN [11].
• The Court told the Centre to notify pupil-teacher norms for special teachers, and told governments to create permanent posts and fill them on a regular basis [11].
• Compare that with the national figure: one State's estimated need is more than twice the 32,196 posts funded for the whole country [11][12].

9. A School-Based Tool Cannot Find Children Who Are Not in School

• PRASHAST only reaches children who are already enrolled
• The checklist is filled in by teachers, inside schools [1].

• A disabled child who never joined school, or who dropped out, is never seen by a teacher. So that child is never screened.

• These are the children most likely to be missing

• UNESCO's Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Report 2020 studied 14 countries. About 12% of children had a disability, but they made up 15% of all out-of-school children [14].

• The gap grows with each school stage. Children with disabilities were 1, 4 and 6 percentage points more likely to be out of school at primary, lower secondary and upper secondary levels [14].

• The law has the same blind spot

• Sec 17 of the RPwD Act asks for a five-yearly survey of school-going children [6].

• So both the law and the tool start counting at the school gate.

• Why the headline figure can mislead

• "92 lakh students screened" [7] tells us how many enrolled children were checked. It says nothing about children with disabilities outside school.
• UNESCO warns that most learning data comes from schools, so it leaves out children who do not attend [14].

10. What a 30-Minute Module Can and Cannot Do

• Sensitisation is not the training the law asks for
• Sec 17 of the RPwD Act asks for teachers trained in sign language and Braille, and for resource centres (places in a block or district with special equipment and staff that serve many schools) [6].

• A 30-minute module can change attitudes. It cannot teach Braille or how to adapt a lesson for a child with an intellectual disability.

• "72 lakh sensitised" counts people who took part, not skills gained

• The figure tells us how many people completed the module [1].

• It does not tell us whether teachers now flag children correctly, or whether they teach flagged children any differently.

• Wrong flags have a cost in both directions

• The checklist uses observable indicators (behaviour a teacher can see) and flags only probable cases [1].
• If teachers flag too many children, the few special educators get even more cases to check (see the section on special educators above).
• If teachers flag too few, children are missed. Short training raises both risks.

11. What Should Happen Next, and Who Should Do It

• States/UTs should create permanent special-educator posts
• This follows the Supreme Court's 2021 direction in Rajneesh Kumar Pandey [11].

• Funding contractual posts every year under Samagra Shiksha [12] does not make a stable cadre (a permanent group of trained staff).

• DoSEL should publish the full PRASHAST pipeline, not just entry numbers

• Report how many children were flagged, how many a special educator validated, and how many got a certificate, State by State.
• Only then can anyone see where children get stuck.

• UNESCO notes that almost half of low- and middle-income countries do not collect enough education data on children with disabilities [14].

• Link school screening to search for out-of-school children

• Samagra Shiksha already runs annual block-level identification camps [9].

• States should use these camps to look for disabled children outside school. The teacher checklist [1] cannot reach them.

• NCERT/DoSEL should add skill training on top of the 30-minute module

• This means a follow-up course on sign language, Braille and lesson adaptation, as Sec 17 of the RPwD Act asks [6].
• The 30-minute module should be the first step, not the whole training.

12. Anchors for Answers

• Data: 32,196 special educators funded under Samagra Shiksha in 2023-24 (Rs 743.40 crore), compared with more than 72 lakh teachers sensitised. This shows the validation bottleneck [12][1]
• Data: Children with disabilities are about 12% of children but 15% of out-of-school children (UNESCO, 14 countries) [14]
• Data: The special-educator norm is 1 for every 10 CwSN (primary) and 1 for every 15 (upper primary) [13]
• Report/Committee: UNESCO Global Education Monitoring Report 2020 – Inclusion and Education [14]
• Law/Case: Rajneesh Kumar Pandey v. Union of India (SC, 28 Oct 2021): notify norms for special teachers, then create and fill permanent posts [11]; RPwD Act 2016, Secs 16–17 [6]
• Scheme: Samagra Shiksha's Inclusive Education component funds special educators and block-level identification camps. It is the funding route that decides whether PRASHAST's flags turn into actual support for children [9][12]

13. Mains Relevance

• GS-II: welfare schemes for vulnerable sections and their performance; mechanisms, laws and institutions for protecting these sections; issues relating to the development and management of education.
• GS-IV (secondary): empathy and compassion towards weaker sections; attitudes.
• Possible question stems: 1. Early identification is the foundation of inclusive education. Examine the role of digital screening tools like PRASHAST in fulfilling the mandate of the RPwD Act, 2016. (250 words) 2. A whole-school approach is essential for meaningful inclusion of Children with Special Needs. Discuss in the context of NEP 2020. (150 words) 3. Despite statutory guarantees, children with disabilities remain among the most excluded in Indian schools. Identify the bottlenecks and suggest measures. (250 words)

14. Related Topics to Study Next

• RPwD Act, 2016 (full Act): covers the 21 categories, reservation, and the Chief and State Commissioners [5][6].
• Samagra Shiksha: the parent scheme that funds the CwSN component [9].
• NEP 2020 – Equitable and Inclusive Education / SEDGs: the policy basis; NEP also counts transgender children among SEDGs [10].
• NGIFEIE (National Guidelines and Implementation Framework on Equitable and Inclusive Education): the implementation framework sent to States/UTs [10].
• UNCRPD: the international convention the RPwD Act was framed to implement.
• Accessible India Campaign / UDID card: links to disability certification after screening.
• Shikshak Parv and NCERT-CIET digital initiatives (DIKSHA, PM eVIDYA): the same delivery ecosystem.

15. NCERT Concepts to Revise

• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act 2016 (Polity): The legal basis for PRASHAST: it defines the 21 disabilities screened and sets the inclusive-education duties in Secs 16–17.
• Concurrent List (Polity): Education is a Concurrent List subject, so States recruit special educators while the Centre only funds and sets norms.
• Social justice (Polity): Inclusive schooling for children with disabilities is part of removing disadvantage and giving fair opportunity to weaker sections.
• Digital divide (Geography): A digital screening tool and online module may reach rural and poorly connected schools unevenly.
• E-governance (Economy): PRASHAST delivers screening, training and school-wise reports through a portal, which is an example of technology-based government service delivery.
• Accessible India Campaign (Polity): It is a related disability-access effort and is named in the note's related topics, linking to certification and entitlements.

16. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Wrong ministry: PRASHAST belongs to the Ministry of Education (DoSEL) and was developed by NCERT-CIET, not the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment [1][2].
• 7 vs 21: the RPwD Act recognises 21 categories; the earlier regime had 7 [5].
• Screening vs diagnosis: PRASHAST flags probable cases only. Certification needs medical assessment after a special educator validates the case [1][2].
• Two different numbers: 72 lakh teachers sensitised in 2026 [1] is separate from 92 lakh students screened reported in 2025 [7].
• Module audience: it is not only for teachers. It covers non-teaching staff too [1].